Herzog & de Meuron have donated materials representing nine of the firm’s built and unbuilt projects from 1994 and 2018 to the Museum of Modern Art. Presented through the firm’s charitable foundation, the Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett, the gift will include 23 physical objects, including models, architectural fragments, sketches, and digital assets.
In a statement, MoMA said that the nine projects showcase the firm’s three-decades-long work challenging conventions of materiality, structure, and typology. Four projects, in particular, will demonstrate these things: Dominus Winery in Napa Valley, California; 1111 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, Florida; 56 Leonard in New York; and the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany.
The donation will also highlight collaborations with famous artists. Work with Thomas Ruff on the Eberswalde Technical School Library in Germany, with Michael Craig-Martin on the Laban Dance Centre in London, and with Ai Weiwei on the National Stadium in Beijing will be spotlighted.
MoMA’s permanent collection already includes four architectural projects done by the Swiss firm from 1988 to 1997 and one design object from 2002. Martino Stierli, the chief curator of architecture and design at MoMA, said in a statement that the new works will be a key feature of the museum’s newly expanded galleries, opening this spring.
